Energy
by NefariousImp
Summary: Dawn is worried about Glory finding her, so she leaves Sunnydale, but decides to find somebody to train her to defend herself. Her Keyness wasn't as gone as they thought. Spike and Dawn discover a destiny that nobody believed was even possible.
1. Chapter 1

Energy

By Nefarious Imp

Disclaimer: Don't own any of it but the story line.. Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. Also, a lot of the weapons are made up or off of stuff like Lord of the Rings. I mixed and matched the names for them from different items from movies and shows.

Spoiler/Pairing: D/S eventually, Season 5, Tough Love.

Summary: Rated R just to be safe. Swearing and a little blood,some sexual referances but nothing graphic. Dawn/Spike eventually. Dawn is worried about Glory finding her, so she leaves Sunnydale, but decides to find somebody to train her to defend herself. Her Keyness wasn't as gone as they thought it was. Spike and Dawn discover a destiny that nobody believed was even possible. Also, don't know exactly how old she is at this time, but I'm making her sixteen for this story.

Author's note: I know very little about Chinese martial arts or about energy flow and chi. Just what little I know from movies. Makin it up as I go. Hang in there. It's about the story not the details. Also, this is my very first fic. Normally I'd do Buffy, but she'll never accept Spike completely as he is whereas Dawn already does. And she's gotta grow up sometime. And he has forever to wait.

She had made up her mind that she was leaving.

Glory had taken Tara and had brain sucked her (or maybe it was more of a mind suck seeing as how she was still alive). Regardless, she had been injured and nearly destroyed all because of Dawn's existence.

But Spike...god.

He had been tortured and he still didn't tell. He never told Glory that it was Dawn that she wanted. For a supposedly evil creature, he hadn't acted the way he was supposed to. She wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt. So she was leaving.

She had hid in a cave all afternoon with Spike. She wished she could take him with her, but he wouldn't leave without telling Buffy. And Buffy wouldn't leave without all of the others. And all the others wouldn't leave or would make the escape too visible.

She had called the dock's office and found out there was a ship headed for China. She knew that it would take about a week to reach China and she wouldn't make it as a stowaway. She'd be discovered and then what?

So she worked out a deal with the dock's office attendant to get on board as a temporary crewmember. She'd work her way to China.

Problem was that she was a girl. But her chest still hadn't come in much yet.

Totally doable.

Her face was a little too feminine but it was only a week.

Buffy went to bed.

Dawn got to work.

She grabbed a pair of scissors and hacked off her hair really short. She tried to make it even but didn't want it to even or she'd definitely look too feminine. She grabbed a pair of very old blue jeans that were baggier than the others and had more of a maleness to them. Then, she grabbed the Sex Pistols t-shirt she had stolen from a box in Spike's crypt. And her steel-toed Doc Martins Spike had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday.

He had put the box on the roof outside her bedroom window that night and knocked then run away. She knew that he had probably stolen them but she didn't care.

When she looked in the mirror she looked like a boy, a pretty boy, but a boy none the less. She grabbed a spiral-bound notebook that was empty and wrote a note to Buffy.

Dear Buffy,

I know I'm leaving at a bad time but it's obvious at the way it's all going she'll eventually find the Key. So I'm leaving Sunnydale with it. I'll be back someday I'm sure. On my 19th birthday I'll be here. Don't worry about where I'm going. I've made arrangements and you won't find me.

Tell Spike I'm sorry I didn't take him with me. I wanted to but he'd have told you and you'd have told the Scoobies and then I couldn't get away undetected. I'll be all right. I've hardened myself. I know therer will be somethings that will go wrong, but as long as I'm alive. I'll be okay. I'm taking weapons with me. Stake, knife, Riley's taser, Holy water, and the Cross choker you got me. I'm sorry and I love you.

All of you.

Tell Spike that 'the first slayer he killed must have been very good at martial arts to have done so well in the fight. I hope I can fight JUST like her someday. Maybe better. It's sad she died during the Boxer Rebellion but at least it's over now.' And Buffy, make sure it's word for word.

Love,

Dawn

She tore out the paper and put it on her bed. She grabbed her black gym bag she had packed earlier and put the notebook and pen in it. She put the Choker on. It was gothic enough that it didn't look girly. It was made entirely of one-inch tall black crosses that went entirely around her neck.

She stuck the other weapons in her bag except for the taser. She threw the bag over her shoulder and glanced back one last time at her room before climbing out the window. She ran to the docks. The ship left at 1 a.m. She was right on time.

"Hey," she said to the dock attendant, lowering her voice a couple octaves without sounding too deep. She didn't want to be obvious. "I'm Will Finlay; we spoke on the phone about a ship going to China."

"Sure," he said. "Follow me, I've made all the arrangements. Got the money?"

"Course." She said handing him the one hundred dollars she agreed upon for him getting her on the ship. It wasn't a passenger ship. " Sir, If a man wearing black with white hair comes tell him Will Finlay said that 'my sister Dawn went east while I went west'. We figured if we split up then the guy who hurt him would have a harder time following us. But only tell him that alone. If there's someone with him get him alone. And don't tell anybody else. If someone asks about my sister just say you don't know. But the guy with white hair is the only one I trust. Can you do that for me?" He nodded and took her to meet the ship's captain.

He was a mean looking man but she could tell by the look in his eye that it was mostly just for show. She knew he was really a good man but had to look tough to keep his men in line. She'd always been a good judge of character. Although no one else thought so. Take Spike for example.

"Captain Porter, this is the young man I was telling you about. Will Finlay."

"Captain Porter." She shook his hand firmly. The Captain nodded but looked at her carefully as if sensing something was off. He finally decided what he needed to cause he nodded again and said a gruff, "Follow me." He took her up the gangplank onto the ship.

A few men were on the deck and two of the three stared at her till the Captain glanced at them and they got back to work. The third guy glanced at her but went back to work.

The Captain took her to a small room with a desk that was nailed to the floor. He shut the door.

"Sit down." He indicated the chair opposite his desk as he sat behind it. She sat down and he stared at her for a second. "What's your real name, kid?" She looked like a deer in headlights for a second.

"It's Will, Sir." She stuttered.

"Don't think so, princess. Try again." Her eyes went wide. She hung her head.

"I can't tell you, Sir. I'm a girl yes, but I can't tell you my name. If she found..." she choked.

"Look, you look like a boy, but I've been around for nearly fifty years and it's my job to read people. Can you at least tell me what you are running from? I'll still take you but I can't just let you on my ship as an unknown. Tell me or you're off. It will stay between the two of us. I swear." She sighed and looked up at him.

"You swear?" He nodded. "My name is Dawn. Do you believe in things that go bump in the night?" He nodded again raising an eyebrow this time. "Well there's this thing after me. If she gets me then she could end the world. I really can't go into more depth cause it's a long story and you'd throw me overboard cause you'd think I was crazy."

"Wait here." He said and left the room. He came back a few minutes later. "I've ordered the crew to set sail. Now, it's a long trip and the longer you talk the less you have to work. I'll listen to you and reserve judgment till the end. But I won't throw you overboard. I've had too many vampires on my ship to believe you to be crazy. So, begin." She felt the ship move.

"Well, to begin with, I may look sixteen, but I'm really only a few months old. And my best friend is a vampire. I'm not even really human. I mean, I am but I'm not just a human. Okay this is harder than I thought. Have you ever heard of a slayer?" He shook his head no.

So she began the story. The sun was rising as she finished. About halfway through the Captain had got up and filled a shot glass with whiskey and downed it.

"Hmm. That's...I knew about vampires, and I'd seen a demon before but I didn't know it went that deep. I'll keep your secret, if for no other reason than nobody'd believe me." He chuckled. " All right. It's been a long night, lets get some sleep and we'll both get up this afternoon at two. If I see a guy that looks like Spike I'll give him a ride. And you'll always have a ride.

"I've always wanted to save the world. But don't let it out got an image to maintain. I think I'll have the crew check for stowaways. I'm suddenly really paranoid. Oh, and if anybody asks why you aren't having to work as hard as the rest it's because you're my nephew. They should leave you alone.

"Come on, I'll show you where you sleep. Normally I'd have you sleep with the others but seeing as how you're my nephew and are actually a girl. You can take the spare room next to mine I use for a living room. Don't use it much so it's more of a storage room for my personal belongings. But there's a hammock in there." He showed her the room and left her alone. She climbed into the hammock and was asleep in minutes.

Back in Sunnydale:

"Spike!" Buffy yelled slamming the crypt door open. He shot up off the stone sarcophagus.

"Bloody Hell, Slayer. Do I come screaming and slamming around your house when it's your bed time?" She pulled him up by his shoulders since he wasn't wearing a shirt and slammed him up against the wall. She thrust the note from Dawn in his face.

"What do you know?" She said fear and anger in her eyes. He took the paper and read it. Sighing he said

"I know she's either really smart or really stupid. I'm not sure what her little message to me means but I'll try to find out. I'll go see if I can pick up her trail at sunset. You go and check the bus station and see if she bought a ticket. Call Angel and tell him to keep his eyes out for her. But why don't you just do a location spell for her?" Buffy sighed heavily.

" I had Willow put an anti-location spell on her so she couldn't be found if Glory tried it. Didn't realize that I'd need it for her."

"Yeah, and when Glory found out she was the bloody Key and nabbed her you didn't think you'd need it to find her then?" He scowled at her.

"Crap, I was hoping it never came to that. Oh, and thanks for making me feel like even more of a retard." He smirked at her.

"Any time, luv." She glared at him. "If I pick up a trail tonight I'll leave you a note and just follow it. I'll find her and bring her back, but I might wait till Glory's gone before I bring her. I'll keep in touch with you though I doubt Glory or her scab crew are smart enough to tap your phone or check your mail." She nodded.

"Spike, if you find her, tell her I love her."

"If I find her I'll have her call you and you can tell you herself."

"I should just go find her.."

"No, Sunnydale needs you. I'll find lil' sis and I'll take care of her. Till the end of the world. I promise." She nodded. "Now, go on, I'll head to Willies and see if he's heard anything."

"Thanks, Spike." She said and left. He sighed. He had a suspicion where Dawn had gone, but needed to be sure. He went through the tunnels to the butchers dragging a cooler of ice. He filled it with blood and went back to the crypt to pack. He was sure that if he checked the docks he'd find her trail. He came up though a sewer cover and rushed into the Dock master's office, batting out the flames just in time for the man to turn. The man looked at him and nodded.

"He said you'd come. He said to tell you he's going west while his sister's going east."

"He?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Will Finlay. He said to only tell you that only if you were alone. He said Dawn went east if they split up then the guy couldn't find them as easy." Spike knew he'd found his trail and he knew it didn't lead east. That is, unless you were going to the Far East. "You got anything headed where he was going?"

"Not for at least two weeks till the ship he left on comes back. It was headed for Tianjin it's the only dock by Beijing."

"I can't wait that long, do you have anything that I could buy from you that can catch the ship? Preferably with a cabin on it?" The man contemplated for a minute. Well, it's not mine but for five hundred I won't report the boat in dock twenty-one missing for a week."

"Deal. But I need a driver. For an extra five can you get somebody? Cause then he can just bring it back and you won't have to report it."

"Deal. I'll do it. Wanted to take the day off anyway." He made a phone call and within a few minutes a guy walked in and they left. Spike made a dash for the boat and crashed through the cabin door, once again batting the flames.

The guy climbed into the boat and laughed. "If you had told me you were a vampire I'd have found a shady spot to pull up to so you could get in."

"Sod off. There's hope for SunnyHell after all. Not everybody's a bloody idiot." He said shutting the door and lying down as the engine started up. Within a few minutes the rocking of the ship had him asleep.

On the Ship:

Dawn woke up to banging on her door. Sat up and ran to the door pulling it open. The captain looked at her. "It's two; you can use my bathroom if you want. But you have to empty it yourself."

"Empty what?"

"The can. We don't exactly use toilets around here."

"Ewww."

"Dump it over the side. When you're done meet me up on deck." He pointed to the bathroom. She did her business and dumped it. She swore she was never swimming in the ocean ever again. She was on deck soon after, still wearing the clothes from the day before. The Captain was talking to a man. He nodded and looked at Dawn. The Captain nodded and walked back to his cabin.

"Hey, Will, I'm Aaron. I'm the tour guide for today. Didn't know the Captain had a sister."

"I've never met him before today, He and mom had a big fight when they were in their teens and they haven't really spoken since. My mom died a couple of weeks ago. Didn't want to do the foster thing. So, what's my job? And I'm really hungry."

"Go down to the galley and get some grub then meet me on C deck over there. You get to scrub the decks. It's one of the easiest jobs here. And it ain't easy. Tomorrow you can do dishes." He grinned.

She spent the rest of the day scrubbing and climbed into her hammock just as the sun set. The captain told her she'd done well and could turn in early on her first day.

On the stolen boat:

Spike woke up just as the sun dipped below the horizon. He climbed out of the cabin and looked at the orange and pink sky. He loved sunsets; it was the closest thing to a blue sky he would ever see. He looked at the driver. "How much longer do you think?"

"Not much, should be seeing her any second now. It'll be harder to find when it's dark. But you being a vampire should help." Spike stared at him. "I'm Chris by the way."

"Spike." Chris was right when the sky got completely dark he could still see and within minutes the ship was in view. They pulled up next to it, honking. A man looked over the side and disappeared.

A few seconds later another man looked then hollered commands. Spike dug in his pocket and handed the man the thousand dollars he owed him. Spike handed him a note that he had written for Buffy and gave Chris an extra hundred to deliver it to 1630 Revello Drive.

A rope ladder was thrown over the side of the ship and Spike climbed up using one hand and carrying his cooler and bag in the other. Which was no small feat. He hopped over the side and looked at the man who had been shouting orders.

"You the Captain?"

"I take it you're Spike. Your brother's already in bed. He worked his butt off. I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I loved my sister, but we hadn't seen each other since we were teens. Come on, you can check on Will and then we'll find you a place to sleep." He said leading towards Dawn's room. Spike caught on quickly and followed him.

He opened the door to Dawn's room and breathed a sigh of relief to see a figure in the dark. He couldn't make out all the details cause she was covered up but he could smell from the door that it was her.

He shut the door and followed the Captain to his office. They talked for a while discussing their secret identities and their fake ones getting the details down pat.

"So, what are her plans for when the ship docks?" Spike asked.

"Well, I was going to talk to her about it in the morning. I figure that she'll need all the help she can get. Down the Yellow River there's a town called Xining. It's full of famous monasteries, but there's one quite a ways away from Xining that's small but has the best Martial Arts Master probably in the world. I met him years ago. Gave him a ride on this very ship. He owes me. So I'm gonna call in my payment. I'm gonna see if he'll teach her.

"I was gonna go myself but now that you're here you can take her. Just get to Xining and go to the main monastery. Ask for someone who can take you to the Xioinchi. When you get there ask to speak to Master Xioquan."

"That's a lot of bloody X's. How's he gonna believe me."

"I'm going to send a note and something that he will know came from me. For tonight you can share her room."

"Actually, I just woke up. Vampire, so what do you need me to do, and is there something I can do to take the work load off of her?"

"She scrubbed the decks today. You can do that tomorrow night. She can do the dishes. Tell you what. We didn't do a stowaway check yet. Check around and if you find anybody with a heartbeat bring them to me."

"I can do that. Thanks for taking her in mate. I owe you one." He said. The captain shook his head.

"Nah, you guys are saving the world, I think I owe you more than just one ride. You guys ever need me and I'm your guy." Spike nodded and left.

He checked every deck, nook and cranny of the ship, found two vampires that met quick, dusty endings, but nothing else. He was walking by shipmates sleeping quarters and heard some of them talking. He listened in as one guy started talking about the Captain's nephew.

"Boy that kid scrubbed those floors like a pro. He's a hard worker."

"Yeah, but I don't think he's really the captain's nephew."

"Why do you say that?"

"I think the Captain needed some company in bed. If he was really his nephew he wouldn't have made him work so hard." One guy laughed. Spike opened the door and glared at him.

"You ever talk about my brother like that again and I'll use your entrails for towlines." The guy stared in shock. "Kid just lost his mum, had nowhere to go. Social services wasn't bloody well gonna grant me custody. He took off, but left me a note. I will kill anybody who even looks at him funny."

Everyone nodded vigorously.

There was something about the man that made every hair on the back of their necks stand up. He smirked. "I'm Spike, have a good night ya bloody wankers." He shut the door and walked down the hall keeping his sensitive hearing towards the door.

"Holy shit, Hal, can you ever keep your stupid thoughts to yourself?"

"Shut up, Dave, we were all thinking it."

"Well, I sure the hell ain't thinking it now."

"Oh, come on, Dave, you can't tell me that punk actually scared you."

"Normally I'd say no, but I don't think he was kidding, did you see his eyes. He threw that threat out there like he'd not only do it but had actually done it before."

"Whatever, I'm not scared of him, he was almost half my size. I'm tempted to find his so-called brother and see if that he can clean other things as well as he cleaned the deck." He laughed. Nobody laughed with him. Everybody stared at the door expecting it to open but they still jumped when it did. Spike was standing there with a smile on his face, but everybody knew it wasn't friendly.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Hal stood up and smiled.

"Let's go punk, I ain't scared of you."

"Good, that'll make it more fun." Spike walked onto the outer deck and waited for the guy. A few guys followed peeking out the door.

"Come on punk, I'm gonna kick your ass." Spike snorted.

"Not bloody likely. Shut the door." He said. The guys slammed it shut immediately. "Now that we are alone..." he walked slowly up to Hal and grabbed a hold of his shirt twisting it in his fist. Hal looked down at his fist and laughed.

"Oh, kid, you just fucked up. I'm gonna beat your ass, then, I'm gonna find your brother." Spike smirked and suddenly raised the guy up off the ground and changed into game face. The guy's eyes bugged out. "What the fuck are you?"

"Somebody who's gonna give you one last chance, I shouldn't but lil bro would be disappointed in me. Fuckin' straighten up. There's nothin I'd like better than to teach you how I got by name. Used to torture my victims with railroad spikes. I get off on blood play, and there will be blood."

Spike sniffed the air just as he heard the sound of something splashing on the deck. He looked down to see the dark wet spot on the front of the guy's pants. He looked up at the guy's face and turned back to his human visage and smirked. "See? Fun. Oh, and you didn't see my other face did you."

"No, no, didn't see anything, totally don't know what you're talking about." He gulped. Spike set him down gently.

"See? I knew we'd get along. Now, toddle of to bed, Wanker." The guy ran for the door and slammed it shut behind him. He could hear the other guy's laughter as he walked away. "I'm still the Big Bad, chip or no chip." He knew he couldn't actually hurt the guy but he could toss him into the ocean if nothing else.

He headed for Dawn's room. He closed the door and stared at her form inhaling deeply. Taking comfort in the fact that she was alive and okay. He found the extra hammock and hung it up next to her. He climbed in and fell asleep.

He was awoken several hours later as a squeal penetrated his eardrum and he felt something crash into him. Suddenly he was spinning over and being dumped onto the hard floor as his hammock capsized.

He didn't even have time to get his bearings before he was being choked by a pair of arms around his neck and something sitting on his lap putting kisses all over his face. He opened his eyes but could only see the side of a boy's head as the boy hugged the unlife out of him.

"Who the bloody hell are you? Bloody poofter!" Spike gasped out. The boy pulled back with a smile on his face and Spikes eyes widened in recognition. "Bloody hell, Nibblet? What happened to your hair?" He pouted.

"I had to cut it to pass for a boy." He shook his head sadly.

"Shame, can't call you a shiny-haired brat anymore." His face hardened. "Is that my bloody shirt!" She cringed and nodded meekly. "Looks smashing on you, pet." He smiled softly.

He hugged her close. "You had me so bloody worried. From now on, you tell me where you're going. I'll come with you. I won't tell if you don't want me to. Oh and thanks for the tip on where you were going. As soon as we dock we gotta call your sister and let her know you're okay."

"I can't go back, Spike. If Glory finds me..."

"Shhh. Nibblet I've talked to the Capt'n. He knows a Martial Arts Master who owes him a favor. He's gonna have the guy train you. I think it's a good idea. I'll be there. So sis won't freak too bad. This will let the window pass that Glory needs to do the ritual. Hopefully give Buffy the focus to take her out without having to worry about having to protect you."

"Cool, I've always wanted to learn to fight."

"Yeah, well, the sooner the better. I scared the piss outa one of the guys last night that was saying inappropriate things about you last night." He smirked and raised his scared eyebrow. "Literally."

"Eewww." She scrunched up her nose. "Thanks. I'd better go, after I eat I've got to do the dishes." She kissed his cheek and got up. He stood up.

"God, you do look like a boy. Like the choker. Thought I felt something singeing me while you were hugging me. Hey, watch out for those guys and let me know if any of them give you a hard time. Funny, I never liked it as much when they wet their selves before I got the chip." He grinned. She smiled affectionately at him.

"I'm glad you are able to enjoy the smell of pee again." He scowled as she giggled. "I'll see you later. Have fun." She waved walking out the door. When she got up to the main deck all the guys stopped and stared at her. She smirked a not unlike-Spike smirk and walked over to Aaron.

"Morning Aaron. So, dishes huh?" He hesitantly nodded.

"I..If you want to that is." She grinned.

"Aaron, you don't have to be scared of him. You've been nothin but nice to me. He didn't tell me exactly what happened, but I have a feeling whoever it was saying some pretty nasty things about me. And Spike scared the pee out of him. Right?" she asked. He nodded. "He's touchy about me. How you treat me is how he treats you."

"Got it. So, how much older is he than you?"

"Well, there's several years between us. Sometimes he acts like he's eight and others he acts like he's over a hundred. Just got to catch him in the right mood." she grinned. "I'm gonna go get breakfast. It's gonna be a long week."

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Energy

by: NefariousImp

Chapter 2

Back in Sunnydale:

Buffy was on her last nerve. It had been two days since Dawn disappeared. There was a knock on the door and Buffy rushed to answer it. A man stood in front of her.

"Can I help you?" she asked frowning.

"Buffy Summers?" she nodded. He handed her the note and left. She opened it up.

Buffy,

Hey, it's me. If you are getting this then you're still alive and obviously so am I. Found Dawn. She was on a ship to China. Caught up with it.

We are gonna hang out in China for a while. It takes about a week to get there so we'll call you in a week or so. But it's international so it'll have to be collect. I'll send some money to pay the bill.

We're fine.

Don't worry. I made a promise and I never break a promise to a lady. So BREATHE. Worry about taking Glory out. I'll worry about protecting the Nibblet.

Tell everyone hi for us.

Spike

Buffy sighed in relief. Dawn wasn't alone anymore. They'd call as soon as they got there. She was actually glad Dawn was out of the way. She could now focus solely on the woman that the council had told her, yesterday, wasn't a demon but a hell-god.

Like fighting a demon wasn't scary enough.

She called the Scoobies and told them that Spike had caught up with her.

Dawn had been smart and had bought a bus ticket in her name making it look like she had gone east to L.A.

Two days after the note from Spike came, Glory attacked the Scoobies. Buffy managed to get her away and Glory was hit by a truck. The Scoobies decided Dawn's idea was a good one.

They took Joyce's SUV and hit the road.

They were several miles away when the Knights of Byzantine attacked them. Giles was injured and they hid in an old convenience store. They managed to convince the knights to let a doctor come and tend to Giles. Buffy called Ben and he came.

He helped Giles and they were about to let Ben leave when he changed into Glory. She beat up Buffy, and Willow released the shield.

The Knights came pouring in and attacked Glory while the Scoobies escaped. By the time Glory had killed all the knights the Scoobies were several miles away heading toward L.A. in the damaged SUV.

They pulled up at Angel investigations and poured into the hotel. There was no one there.

"Where the heck are they?" Xander said.

"Don't know but unless Glory shows, we're staying here till they get back." Buffy said heading for Angel's office. "Everybody find a room and rest up. I'll take first watch and Xander will take second Anya can help him. Willow third. Xander put Giles in the first room upstairs. Anya, can you take care of Giles while I'm on watch?"

They nodded and Buffy went to the phone. She called Dawn's friend Janice.

"Hello?" Janice answered the phone.

"Hi, Janice, this is Dawn's sister Buffy."

"Oh, hey, how's Dawn, haven't seen her at school."

"She's doing okay, she's gone to visit our dad in Europe. I actually called for a favor and you are the only one I could think of. I need you to go to our house and change the message on our answering machine. I'd like to leave a message for Dawn."

"Sure, let me get some paper...Okay. Shoot."

" 'Hi, this is the Summers residence, leave a message. Dawn, if that's you, we had to go on an emergency trip. We're staying at Will's grandpa's house. He's such an angel. I can't believe you're living with dad now and I won't see you till you're twenty. Hope Europe's fun. Tell dad I love him and thank you for taking care of you.' Did you get all of that?"

"Yeah, I'll go do it right now."

"Hey, Janice, make sure it's word for word. It's really important. And if you see anybody in or around our house wait for them to leave and don't let them see you."

"Are you guys in trouble?"

"We've got some mobsters or something after us and they've bought off the police. They think I have something of theirs and I totally don't. They've already hurt two of my friends. So I don't know when I'll be back. If you see a blonde lady at our house with a bad perm run away as fast as you can. She's the one who does the most damage."

"Wow, yeah, I'll be careful, I hope Dawn's okay."

"Yeah, I had to get her far away. Well, I better go. Thanks, Janice. Take care of yourself."

"Will do. Bye." she said and hung up. Buffy checked a couple hours later and the new message was on the machine. She went to check on Giles.

"Hello, Buffy, everyone is safe, correct?"

"As safe as I can make them. Left Dawn a coded message on our machine where we are and to stay away for a long time if we don't talk to each other."

"Well, tonight is the only window for a thousand years and her human host won't live that long. So, does anybody know how she found us in the first place?"

"Ben, it had to be. He was the only one with us when she showed up. And I have a vague recollection of Glory wearing Ben's clothes. I guess he is her host."

"Yes, closer to time the spell to keep her host hidden from everyone breaks down. Has Angel come home yet?" she shook her head no.

"I wonder where they are?" Buffy said leaving the room.

Back on the ship:

"Wake up, Spike!" Dawn shook the vampire. "Land! They've spotted land! Come on!" She pulled him up.

The week was finally over.

Glory's window had passed and they had made it to China. Dawn pulled him from the cabin into the hall to peek out of the door into the sunlight so he could see the landmass on the horizon.

"Bloody hell, you'd think you'd been at sea for a year instead of a week. I'm going back to bed wake me when we dock." he sauntered back to the cabin.

"Party pooper." Dawn yelled at him then ran to the side of the ship to watch the land get closer. They docked just as the sun set. Dawn was just headed to get Spike when his head popped out the door.

"Let's go say good-bye to the Capt'n and get on the move." they found the Captain and he gave them directions on how to get to the main part of the city and then how to get to the monastery.

They thanked him, got their bags and left. They were soon at the city. Spike nicked a cell phone from a guy. He pulled Dawn into an alley and called Buffy. He listened for a few minutes to the message on the answering machine then turned it off.

"Well, looks like Glory got too hot to handle. They took off for Angel's and she said for you to stay here with me. Course it was in code. But nobody of Glory's bunch would have a chance of finding us or them."

He called Angel Investigations. The phone rang three times before he heard a voice say a frantic 'hello'.

"Slayer, how's the poof?"

"Spike! Thank God I was starting to get worried. Is Dawn with you?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't recognize her. The twit cut off all her hair and is dressed like a boy. Listen, the Capt'n on the ship heard our story and he wants to help. He has a friend downriver that is a Master Martial Artist or some such rot. He said he was probably the best in the world. He wants Dawn to train with him. I think it's a good idea, so I'm gonna head there and check the guy out. Chit needs to at least learn to defend herself."

"Okay, can I talk to her?" Spike raised one eyebrow at her easy acceptance. It must have gotten really bad for her to agree to not only Dawn staying away, but training as well. He handed her the phone.

"Hey, sorry I left like that, I couldn't stand to see anyone else hurt because of me."

"I understand. One of the knights threw a spear and it hit Giles but he's going to be ok. We found out Glory's human host is Ben. I'm...I miss you. Take care of yourself. Let me talk to Spike." she handed the phone to him.

"Slayer, I stole this cell phone. I figure one small wrong to help save the world kinda balances out."

"Fine, go see this guy, make sure and get me an address so I can mail you guys and a number I can call if I have to get a hold of you. What's that cell number in case." she asked. Spike looked it up on the phone and told her.

They hung up and left the alley to make preparations to go to the Monastery.

Spike needed blood. He had run out yesterday. It was Thursday night.

Spike asked a man next to them if he knew where to find a butcher. The man said 'fuck off' and walked away.

Spike growled at him. The man stopped and turned around in fear.

"I need blood. You can bloody well tell me where the butcher is or you can give me a donation." the man immediately pointed right across the intersection.

"Two blocks down that way." he said and ran away. Dawn looked at him.

"What did he say, you got pissed. What language was that?"

"Well, we are in China, take a wild guess. I asked him where the butchers was, he said fuck off, I said he could donate if he didn't want to help."

"Where did you learn to speak Chinese?" he raised one eyebrow. "Okay, stupid question, but how many languages do you speak?"

"Roughly three hundred." he replied.

"Holy crap, I didn't even know there were that many languages."

"Course most of them are demon, but I do know all the human languages. Even the ancient ones. When I was human, I studied dead and ancient languages as my major at Oxford. And I was the bloody librarian at the Watcher's Council." he stopped walking and grabbed her arms.

"You ever tell anyone any of that and nobody'll ever find a trace you ever existed." She just looked at him in disbelief.

"I knew... I knew there was more to you. Why didn't you ever help out at the Scooby research parties?"

"Yeah, and have to explain why I know what I know and where I learned it? No bloody way."

"Hello? You're over a hundred years old and have been all over the world. You're smart and clever and quick to pick things up. Not to mention a vampire. There is no explaining. The watcher's council thing is a bit unexpected though. Why were you working there? Were you a watcher?" she asked as they resumed walking.

"Watcher in training. My dad was a Watcher. He died a few years before I did. Ah, here it is." he said.

They went into the butchers and managed to talk the butcher into selling him the leftover blood. He put it in his cooler and they left.

They found a small diner and grabbed Dawn some food. Then, they headed for the train station.

"Last time I was here there wasn't a train out here. We would have had to take the Yellow River. Long trip, not fun." They were almost to the train station when they were surrounded by a group of vampires.

"Why don't we take that little morsel off your hands." one of them told Spike in Chinese. Spike flashed to game face and put an arm around Dawn.

"She's mine."

"I don't see any claiming marks, which means she's still up for grabs." Dawn pulled her taser out of her pocket just in time to hit one of the vamps as they made a grab for her. He screamed and went down in an unconscious heap.

Spike pulled out a stake and Dawn put her back against a brick wall and proceeded to zap every vamp that got in her range.

Within less than a minute all the vamps were either dust or unconscious. Spike staked the remaining vamps and they hurried to the train station.

They got their tickets just in time to catch the train that was about to leave for Xining. They sat in their private little booth with the doors closed and locked.

"They wanted me didn't they." she said solemnly.

"Yeah, they did. Nice work with the taser by the way."

"I figured it would come in handy. If nothing else, I knew I couldn't stake humans. Why did they want me? Did they work for Glory?"

"No, you were just a meal, plaything. They didn't see my mark on you so they thought you were fair game."

"Mark? What kind of mark?"

"One that would make you mine forever. It's a protection thing. If you wear my mark then no other vampire can touch you. Vampire law. If they do, then it means that it's my right to seek retribution any way I see fit. And no one can interfere or seek vengeance upon me."

"Why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Mark me." he stared at her. "I want you to."

"I want to, but your sister would stake me right quick."

"She's not here. I want it. Do it." he sighed.

"You did understand that I said forever right? Until you die you belong to me. You would never be able to date or even marry. No one but me touches you. Ever."

"I accept." He stared in disbelief into her eyes.

"You bloody Summers women and your stubbornness. Fine. Come sit on my lap." She sat sideways on his lap but her shoulders facing him. She bared her throat to him and he smiled at her acceptance of him.

He couldn't smell fear anywhere on her. He wished for the first time that it was Dawn that he had fallen in love with instead of Buffy. He gently kissed her neck then ran his tongue over her pulse point. She was so relaxed that she didn't even feel his fangs slip into her throat until he removed them.

He took three strong pulls of her blood and whispered 'MINE' she smiled and said 'YOURS' and she felt the bond lock into place.

He ran his tongue over the punctures sealing them and cleaning the excess blood that had leaked out. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.

She smiled at him and leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips. He looked at her in shock as she pulled back.

"What?" she giggled. "You didn't think I was gonna go through my whole life and not even get to kiss a boy, did you? I'm getting kisses, damn it, even if they're from you." he chuckled.

"Guess that's only fair." he had to get her off of his lap. That kiss had had an effect on him that she didn't need to know about.

He lifted her off his lap and put her beside him. She snuggled into his side and fell asleep. He sighed heavily.

Buffy was gonna kill him.

Back in L.A.:

The Angel investigations crew crashed through the door prompting a squeal from the couple on the couch.

"Xander, what are you doing here?" Angel asked.

"Oh, Hey, Dead boy. We needed a place to lay low for a while. It got pretty intense in Sunnydale. Anya, go wake Buffy please." she nodded and ran up the stairs.

A few seconds later Buffy ran down the stairs. She threw her arms around Angel's neck. He hugged her. Within an hour they had all gotten the story.

"You trust Spike?"

"I trust that he cares a lot for Dawn. He treats her like a little sister. I saw how he was with Drusilla. If any vampire can love it's him. I really do think he'll protect her." Buffy said finally admitting to herself that Spike could love.

"He's in love with me. I can't love him back. Even if he was human I don't think I could love him like that. But I do care for him. Dawn loves him and trusts him. I think they'll be okay."

"I don't trust him but I do agree that if any vampire can love it would be him. He never did conform to a normal vampire personality. Always had to push and break the rules. Did you know that he wasn't even fifteen years turned when he killed his first slayer in all out combat. She was pretty good too. Guess we'll just have to have faith in him. Not much we can do anyway. Well, we're gonna hit the hay. Pylea wore us out." he said and they went upstairs to bed.

Somewhere on a train in N. China:

Dawn woke up and looked at the slumbering vampire she was cuddled up to. She was very happy. She had been in love with Spike since she first saw him. The night Buffy had brought Spike home and her mom found out she was a Slayer.

She was eleven and had snuck out of her room and looked down the stairs into the living room. Buffy and Joyce had gone into the kitchen leaving him alone. Dawn had dashed into the living room and looked at him closely. He had a smirk on his face.

"Well if it isn't bitty-Buffy." she put a defiant look on her face. "How would you like to be mine, pet? You'd be mine forever and ever." She bit her bottom lip.

"Okay. But not yet. Mom says I'm too young to have a boyfriend. But we could keep it a secret till I'm older."

"Deal." he said chuckling. "You better get back to bed. I can hear 'em comin'." she grinned and ran through the back room to double back up the stairs after they had passed.

She sighed at the memory and Spike opened his eyes.

"Morning, Bit."

"Do you remember the first time we met?" he looked down at the floor and thought for a minute. He suddenly smiled as he found the correct memory. "Looks like the secrets out." she smiled.

"Looks like. You know I wanted to take you home as a pet that night. Thought you were the most adorable, spit-fire of a girl. Wanted to take you home and raise you. And when you were old enough I was going to turn you. Make you my Childe."

"What's the difference between a Childe and a minion?"

"Well, a minion is a dime a dozen, only made to be servants and such. When they are turned, their Sire only gives them enough blood to turn them. But a Childe is different. Their Sire gives them as much blood as they can stand to lose so when they awake, they are strong and smart and...and family.

"Minions are dusted and tossed aside without any care, but a Childe is loved. The Sire trains and teaches the Childe to be a perfect predator, the perfect shadow. If the Childe dies or even the Sire, the remaining vampire mourns deeply, sometimes they greet the sun. You know how you felt when your mum died? Imagine that times a hundred."

"I didn't know Drusilla knew how to fight. Every time I've seen her fight it was more of a chick fight thing." he laughed.

"Drusilla was the one who turned me, but Angel took over the role of sire from there."

"Why does Angel hate you so much then?"

"Cause he feels guilty because I'm Angelus's prize pupil. I hate Angel, I could torture him, but I couldn't ever kill him. When I found out he had staked Darla I got mad. Hated the bitch, but if he could dust his own sire then that meant Angelus really was gone."

"But Angelus isn't gone, he's just under the surface waiting for that stupid moment of happiness."

"No, what came last time. That wasn't the Angelus I knew. Sure, he was cruel and stuff, but the Angelus that came was insane. Like he'd spent too many years locked up inside his own head, which is sorta true, except he was locked up inside of someone else's head. I don't know what's worse. But anyway, this Angelus was crazy, tried to end the bloody world, the Wanker. Any sane vampire knows that if you kill off all the humans, there goes your food. If you make too many vampires, they'll eventually outnumber the humans. Once again, looking at extinction of both races. Notice his only helper was an insane vampiress?"

The train whistle blew and the train started to slow. "Looks like we're here. Luckily the sun just set. Took us all day to get here. Come on, Bit." they got off the train. Spike took a look around and found an older man who worked behind a booth.

"How may I help you?" the old man asked in Chinese.

"I'm looking for the main monastery." the man pointed to a large building. "Thank you." they walked to the monastery and knocked on the door.

"Yes." said the monk who opened the door.

"Hi, we are trying to get to the Xioinchi. We need someone to take us there. Can it be arranged?" the man nodded and shut the door. A moment later it reopened and a different man stood there.

"Why do you wish to go to the Xioinchi? You are a vampire. You will not be welcome." Dawn stepped forward.

"He is my guardian, he goes where I go." the man stared at her in awe.

"I didn't know you could speak Chinese, Pet." Spike stared at her.

"Every since we arrived here I've been listening to people all around me. Everything they say and after a while it started making sense like I could understand them. Like I used to know the language a long time a go, but I've forgotten and it's all starting to come back to me." she shrugged.

"The prophecy said... but I never thought I'd live..." the man said softly as if to himself. He gathered himself together. "I will take you to Xioinchi myself. Allow me to get a few provisions. Wait here."

He shut the door and a few minutes later he returned. "We must walk there. We should make it before sunrise if we leave now. It is not friendly terrain, so we cannot take any animals to carry us. Follow me, and keep up." Spike snorted.

"I think we can keep up with an old man." he said but the man began a brisk pace that had Dawn smacking his arm.

"You just had to piss him off didn't you. We can't go all night at that pace." she said scrambling after the man.

He led them to the back of the monastery, to a wall. There was a secret passage in the wall. Instead of coming out the other side they were inside a mountain in the dark. The man lit a torch and motioned for them to follow. The twisted and turned throughout the caves.

Several hours later the suddenly came out of the other side. There was a stream in front of them.

"Get a drink, and eat something, we will rest for ten minutes." They eventually got back up and followed the man again. There was no path, but he led them over several hills and valleys, through a forest and eventually they came to the foot of a small mountain.

"Can't we just go around?" Dawn asked.

"We could but your destination is at the top of the mountain. And we must be quick, the sun will rise shortly. And it will light up the top first."

"Well, lets go. Grab my hand, Nibblet, I'll help you up." Spike said. They climbed all the way up and Spike dashed under the awning of the building just as the sun illuminated the area.

A man came out of the door beside Spike and he almost jumped back out into the sunlight.

"You are the Ring." the older man looked at Spike.

"Uh, no, I'm the Vampire." Spike looked at the man like he was crazy.

"And you are the Key. It is an honor to finally meet you."

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Master Xioquan. Why did you call Spike the Ring?"

"He is the keeper of the Key. If a Key is not on a Key Ring it could get lost. I am glad to see he has locked the Key onto the Ring." he said tilting her head to the side to see Spike's claim mark. "It puts my heart to rest to know the Key is safe. Won't you please come in." he turned and walked inside.

Spike tried to use the cell phone, but there wasn't any signal.

"Do you happen to have a phone around here, or mail service?"

"I'm sorry, we have neither, however if you write a letter, our friend might mail it for you when he returns to Xining." Spike nodded and got Dawn's notebook out of her bag and started writing a letter to Buffy.

Buffy,

We have arrived at our destination, safely. If we were to be attacked we would know, we are on top of a small mountain. The Master guy seems nice, and apparently I'm a part of some Prophecy that names me the Keeper. I have taken on the roll of the Keeper. I can't get to into detail cause you never know who's reading this.

But we are fine.

There is no mail or phone here, but one of the monk guys from the city, a twelve hour walk away, has agreed to deliver our mail for us so the time between letter's will probably be a couple of weeks, but I'll let you know of the progress Will has made.

Will misses you guys, I do too for some bloody reason, Must be turning into a ponce.

Tell, Grandpa I said hi.

Here's Will, he wants to write something...

Hi, it's me, I really miss you. But it is so beautiful here.

Spike almost got fried. We reached the top of the mountain just in time for the sun to light it up. It was funny.

The Master knew who I was and wasn't surprised by either me or Spike. Good sign I guess. Well, I figure it'll be about two weeks from now till the time you get my next letter. Cause it has to get to you, you have to write back, it has to get here, then I write again and it has to get to you.

Please keep me informed about all the stuff going on. And let me know when you guys go to Hell. Heh, heh...

Love,

Will and Spike

P.S. Spike and I have accepted our roles in Destiny.

Spike folded the paper and wrote an address on it. The man promised to mail it to that address and to return as soon as a reply was received. They gave him the Revello address as an alternate address to be looking out for.

"You have traveled a long way and have been awake many hours. We will begin training at Sunset. Spike, you are in need of blood are you not?" Spike nodded. "Lao, come here."

A small boy maybe five years old with a long black braid came into the room. He led the boy over to Spike. "You may drink from my student Lao." Dawn's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped but Spike bolted across the room to a far corner.

"Are you out of your bloody mind? Even if I could drink from kids, I don't. There's no challenge to a kid, there's no excuse. That was Dru's thing, she loved the taste of innocence, I've never liked it. Dawn, get your stuff we're leaving."

"Spike, the sun's out!" said panicking.

"We'll find a way, even if I have to roll down the bloody mountain in a barrel." he pulled the door open.

"Stop!" Master Xioquan said. "It was a test. I'm not a complete fool to let a vampire in my house. Especially one who until just now didn't realize he was no longer evil."

"What do you mean! I'm evil! I'm the evilest..." he slammed the door shut in defeat. "Bloody Hell!" he looked hopefully to Dawn. She gave him a sympathetic look and smiled sweetly.

"You'll always be my Big Bad." she wrapped her arms around him. He smiled and hugged her back.

"Thanks, Nibblet. I'm such a poofter." she giggled. "Now, do you have any blood that isn't human or at least isn't innocent."

"I'm afraid all I have is human. However, and when put in this cup, as long as you leave a drop in the bottom it will always refill itself." he said holding up a chalice.

"You're telling me I'm looking at the Holy Grail. You got the Ark of The Covenent here too?" Spike said in disbelief.

"No, I do not. But yes, this is the Holy Grail as you Americans call it. There are three properties to this chalice. Inexhaustibility, inspiration, and regeneration. It was the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. It was also the Cup of the Crucifixtion where Joseph caught Jesus' blood into it."

"I'm a vampire, if I drank from that cup it'd be like drinking pure Holy water."

"For any other vampire. You are the Keeper of the Key. You must drink the Key's blood. It is the only other blood that the cup will allow in it."

"Um, you sure God won't like strike me dead for blasphemy or something? Cause, really not looking forward to eternity in a dustpan." Dawn said.

"Not that appealing is it, Niblet?" Spike smirked. She glared at him.

"You are a part of Creation. You are not by any means the Creator himself, but he Created you to have this destiny. This cup was made for this purpose alone." She sighed.

Dawn came forward and cut her wrist, filling the chalice quickly. Spike grabbed her wrist and licked the wound closed glaring at her the whole time.

Dawn was doing her best not to shiver from the feel of Spike tongue sliding sensuously along her wrist. He stopped and took the cup from her hand. Dawn panicked and took the cup and set it down. She put her arms around Spike's neck.

"Just in case this doesn't work." she said and kissed him slowly. He sighed into the kiss and began to kiss her back. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I know you love Buffy, but I want you to know that I...I love you. Always have." He looked at her in shock. "I know you don't love me, but..."

"I do." he simply said. "I love you, maybe not the same way I love Buffy but it's very close. Maybe it's such a difference that one day the way I feel for you will be stronger than what I feel for her. But I know I do love you. You aren't in her shadow, Bit. You're the sun that makes her have shadows." She suddenly couldn't breathe.

"God, that was so romantic. Were you ever a poet?" he looked away shyly and her eyes grew wide. "Oh, my god, please tell me you made that up and didn't just read it somewhere." she smiled sappily at him. He grinned.

"I guess I just needed the right subject to bring out the good poet in me, instead of the Bloody Awful." he kissed her softly and she sighed. A throat cleared itself and they looked up to see the Master and Lao still there. They grinned sheepishly.

"Guess I'll just try this cocktail of everything that should kill me. Crucifix, and Sun blood. What doesn't kill me and all that rot." he said and drained the glass but making sure to leave a few drops in the bottom.

He sat it down and waited for a second. He smiled at Dawn as he realized he wasn't going to blow away in an cloud of ashes. He looked back at the cup to see that it was once again filled. "Don't mind if I do." he said grinning at Dawn as he raised it back to his lips.

Back in L.A.:

"Angel, may I speak to you privately?" Giles said walking slowly into a hotel room and waiting. Angel entered and looked at Giles as he shut the door.

"I'm sure that by now you are aware of the situation with Glory, are you not?" Angel nodded. "Are you aware of Glory's human host; Ben?" Angel nodded.

"Are we in agreement that sometimes one must die for the greater good of all?" Angel, again, nodded.

"Good. I think you and I should head to Sunnydale tonight. Are there any in your company that would agree with us and help our cause?"

"None that will help, but none that will stop us either." Angel replied.

"Good, we will leave in thirty minutes. Tell only one person that you trust. I don't want Buffy showing up trying to stop us."

Later that night in Sunnydale:

Giles and Angel crouched in the bushes outside of the hospital. Angel went inside to ask if Ben was working. They found he was but was just about to go off shift. Angel hurried back outside by Giles and they got into Angel's car.

Moments later Ben crossed the parking lot and got in his car. They followed his car to an apartment on the outskirts of town. Giles realized it was the same one they had rescued Spike from. Ben parked his car on the street and climbed out.

"Ben?" Angel said walking up to him. Ben looked at him and nodded. Only to have his neck broken half-way through the nod. He fell on the ground in a heap. Angel picked him up and was about to drain him when Giles stopped him.

"Angel, if it was anyone else I'd say go ahead, he's already dead. But this body is shared with a God. Who's to say she can't get into you if you drink his blood. Having Angelus and Glory in the same body would eventually drive you insane and you'd probably give control over to them. God knows I wouldn't be strong enough. We should destroy every trace of the body."

Angel nodded and threw Ben over his shoulder. They headed to the Sunnydale morgue. Giles picked the lock and they went to the Crematory room. They threw the body into the fire. They went to the Giles's house and called Buffy and told her what they had done and that it was safe to come home.

She slammed the phone down.

A few hours later the SUV pulled up and the Scoobies piled out. Buffy glared at the two men.

"It's my job to protect the innocent. He was an innocent. I know in your minds that it was the right thing to do. But in mind all I see is someone dying that didn't deserve to. He was also my friend. I went on a date with him. Angel, go home. Thank you for your help. Giles, I just need to be away from you for awhile."

"Actually, I had planned on moving to London at the end of this week." Buffy looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"It's okay, they all leave eventually. Knew you would too one day. Angel, I'm expecting a call or letter from Dawn and Spike, they may have changed their names or something. So if you see a mailing address in China it's them. Just send it to me or tell them to call home." the Scoobies climbed back into the SUV and left.

Angel and Giles looked at each other before without a word Angel got into his car and headed back to L.A.

Back in China:

The next evening at sunset Spike and Dawn were awakened from their naps. Master Xioquan had decided that Spike and Dawn would train together. So Dawn had to change her sleeping habits.

They ate a light meal and met outside on a stone patio. They could see the sky still streaked with all the red's, pink's, orange's, purple's, and blue's from the sunset.

"Please sit with your legs folded." he said sitting Indian style. The sat across from him and beside each other. "Dawn, you are made from energy. A chi is what we call a persons natural energy. Your chi will be much stronger than any humans, including mine. It is also the flow of power a Wiccan uses to strengthen her spell. You do not have to learn spells. You can create them.

"Spells were created many years ago by someone. Anyone can create a spell, but they must use their chi to do so. This evening we are going to get to where you can feel your energy. Maybe even tap into it. Depends on how fast you pick all this up.

"I want you to close your eyes and breathe deeply. With every Breath your energy is moving back and forth like the tides. Picture the energy flowing in your mind." Master Xioquan got up and left them alone for a minute.

Dawn could see it.

She could feel it.

It was green and glowed.

With every breath she could see it moving like liquid fire.

She had once watched a horror movie and a man talked about what fire looked like in zero gravity. She imagined it looked like this. She took a really deep breath to see what would happen.

All the energy drew close around her body.

She held her breath until she just couldn't anymore and she exhaled quickly.

The wall of energy rushed to her outer extremities like a tsunami and at the tips of her fingers the rush was so great that it pushed out past the ends of her fingertips. She and Spike opened their eyes just in time to see green fire streaming from her fingertips like a flame thrower; setting a nearby bush on fire. Green fire.

They sat there astounded.

"How come I don't shoot fire." Spike pouted looking at his fingers. "I think you just officially passed me on the badass scale."

"I'm glad I got out of line of fire." Master Xioquan said smiling as he came back. "I am surprised you had physical results on your first try. Even knowing what you are I would have guessed it would be months before we would have seen anything. I'm glad I was wrong. It means my job is that much easier.

"Now that we have warmed up it's time for your lessons in defense and weapons. Follow me." he said and took them to a room filled with weapons. Please choose two each. These will be the weapons you will train with from now on. And they will be yours to keep. So choose wisely."

Dawn wandered through the aisles of weapons, touching here and there. Her eyes landed on a knife sheath about fifteen inches long but there were two eight inch dark wood handles sticking out of it. She gripped the handles and pulled. Two gleaming daggers came out.

"Those, my dear, are the Twin Elven Daggers. The are not even from this dimension. They were forged by Elves. They will never break, rust, or dissolve. They simply cannot be destroyed. But those are not for you. Put them down and come here."

She sighed and walked away.

She looked back in time to see the daggers come flying at her.

She screamed and threw up her hands. The daggers flew into her palms, her hands instinctively closing around the handles.

Master Xioquan smiled. "I was right those do belong to you. As long as you are alive you can never lose them. They have chosen you as their owner. You need only to will them to you and they shall come."

"The force is strong with this one." Spike walked by and winked at her. She rolled her eyes. He picked up two identical blades. He cried out as the handles grafted themselves into his forearms. The blades were about two foot long.

"I see the weapons like you as well. These are the Angels. Once again you must see them in your mind retracting or expanding." Spike closed his eyes and concentrated on the blades going away.

He opened his eyes to see them lock back into the handle completely hidden from view. He had left his duster in his room. The handles had wrapped leather straps around his forearms.

He had to admit he liked them. He pictured them coming out and they shot out.

"Oh, I could like this." He grinned. "I'm like Wolverine."

"You've been sneaking into Xander's comic book collection haven't you? Oh, hey, and now you have something to remember your grandpa by." Dawn snickered.

Picking up a Quarterstaff she looked it over It looked like it had been made from braided ivory and dyed a light leaf green.

"An excellent choice. That is the Quarterstaff of Jade. it has the power to give you dilated vision. It speed's up your eye perception so it looks like you and everyone around you are going in slow motion and gives you time to prepare for your next move. It also increases your reflexes and if you are injured it speeds up your healing similar to a vampire or Slayer. It also can never be broken or destroyed. None of the weapons here can."

"It's perfect. I'll take ten of them." she laughed. Spike picked up a quarterstaff that had winding grooves from end to end, like snakes. It was black with red grooves. He spun it around.

"The Quarterstaff of Fire. While you carry this you are immune to fire, and as a vampire that includes the sun. This staff was made for a vampire. Those grooves are for blood. A normal hit is doubled in strength, and for a vampire that's pretty strong. But if thrust into a person like a sword, it will draw out their blood and transfer it to you."

"Gross, please don't do that around me. it's bad enough I have to watch you drink it from a glass." Dawn scrunched up her nose.

"Do you have any weapons a slayer could use?"

"I do, but I will not release them until I've met the Slayer and have trained her in the proper way to use them. Not all Slayers are good. And not all Slayers have what it takes to survive for more than a few years. If she dies I do not want that kind of power to fall into the wrong hands, especially not the Council of Watchers. We shall see.

"In the meantime, let us train. Until I feel you are ready, you will not train with these staff's they carry far too much power. Train with these regular quarterstaffs." They went back out to the courtyard where it was now completely dark.

Dawn had strapped her Twin Elven Daggers onto her back and practiced with them a bit. She felt different, more confident.

They finally picked up the practice staffs and began to attack each other. Spike got in a hit and fell to the ground as the chip fired inside his head. Master Xioquan, who had been watching from the side, and giving random instruction, came over.

"What happened?"

"He was captured by a government group called the initiative and they put a microchip in his head that make it so every time he hurts a human it electrocutes his brain."

"Maybe, I could be of assistance." he said taking Spikes head between his palms and closing his eyes. "Hmm. I see it, hold still, this will probably hurt and will more than likely render you unconscious, but it will solve the problem." His hands began to glow a bright blue and Spike screamed and passed out. Master Xioquan had Dawn help him carry Spike inside.

"What did you do to him? He is going to wake up right?" Dawn asked without taking her eyes off of Spike.

"He will be fine. I short-circuited the chip by sending a strong blast directly into the chip's battery cell. He may be out for a day or two but hopefully he will awaken shortly. In the meantime come back out with me. I will teach you my secrets."

Spike woke up shortly before sunset the next night. His head was still throbbing and he was hungry. He took the chalice and drank from it four times.

He grinned as he felt better than he had in years.

He went to Dawn's room. She lay curled up on the makeshift bed. He stroked the hair out of her face. She snuffled into her pillow and sweetly smiled.

Spike stared at her, wondering when she had put the seed in his heart that now had roots through and through. He realized he did love her more than Buffy. But she was still only sixteen, too young to think of starting a relationship with her.

He sighed.

It was a good thing he was immortal. He didn't have the problem of looking older each year. She'd, eventually, catch up.

He made his mind up to pretend he didn't love her as much as he did until she was seventeen.

He could handle one year. He'd already waited a hundred and fifty for someone who loved him as much as he loved them to come along. He found her, but he could wait.

She deserved the time to grow into herself and become a woman.

Dawn woke up to see bright blue eyes staring at her with adoration. She smiled at him.

"It's good to see you're still unliving. What's for breakfast?" They went into the main room to see Lao sitting next to Master Xioquan, They were doing Calligraphy.

"The other day you mentioned a Prophecy. Care to tell us about it?"

Spike asked.

"It is not time yet. I will tell you when you are ready. Be patient."

"Okay Mr. Miagi." Spike said sullenly.

"Uh, Spike, I think in this case Mr. Miagi's just a wannabe. And what did I tell you about pissing people who are helping us off? If he makes us do chores or something tonight I'm so gonna kick your ass."

They settled into a routine. Every evening they would wake and eat as the sun set. Then they would practice focusing their energy, then training with the quarterstaff's, then train to use the Twin Daggers and the Angels.

They would then eat and spend the rest of the night practicing to fight without weapons.

Dawn grumbled about the pluses of leaving the chip active every time Spike got a hit in. And every time she got one in he'd beam proudly at her and call her his 'Lil' Wildcat'.

Which just annoyed Dawn so that she got more hits in.

TBC...

AN: I know I have a lot of references to other movies and stuff, but hello? This is supposed to be real life. Well, with the whole vampire, magic twist. Anyway if we know about a show or something then they do too. Jonathan and the whole Matrix thing ringin a bell? Sorry. Also, any advice in reviews and even criticism is welcome. It's how I learn. This was my first Dawn/Spike story. Actually my first story ever. Thanks.--NefariousImp


	3. Chapter 3

Energy

by: NefariousImp

Chapter 3

Back in Sunnydale a few days later:

Buffy got a call from Angel saying that a letter had come in. She had him read it to her over the phone and got a return address. She was a little concerned about the P.S. and the prophecy.

Prophecies were rarely a good thing since they usually resulted in an Apocalypse or her death. She thanked Angel and sat down and wrote a reply and sent it in the mail a few hours later.

She called the Scoobies and let them know that they were okay but had them keep an eye out for a prophecy that sounded like what Spike and Dawn had written about. She called Dawn's school and let them know that Dawn had gone to stay with her father in Europe for an undetermined amount of time and didn't know if or when she would be returning for the school year.

Back in China a week later:

"Spike! The monk guy is here. He brought a letter from Buffy!" Dawn said jumping on his bed and waking the vampire up. He sat up and opened the letter and read it out loud.

Spike and Will,

I'm glad you are doing well, we are doing much better here. We are back in Sunnydale. Angel and Giles went behind my backs and killed Ben who was Glory's human host. I was so mad at them cause he was an innocent, but I do understand despite how wrong it feels.

You guys can come back if you want, but I'll understand if you want to finish your training. I won't hold you back. Just let me know how it's going. Please, elaborate in your next letter more about that prophecy. And what the hell you meant by a destiny together.

When Glory attacked us in a gas station before we went to L.A. Willow was able to mind suck Glory and put it back in Tara. Which weakened her enough for us to escape while Glory wiped out the knights of Byzantine.

Don't think we ever have to worry about them or Glory again.

So, I think we can drop the code names cause it's just weird. Giles is recovering well from his spear wound. He's leaving though. He's moving to London. He hasn't said why yet. But I'm okay. One more guy to walk out of my life. I'm used to it by now.

Xander and Anya are doing good. Well, I guess that's all the news around here.

I love you, Dawn. I miss you guys.

Love,

Buffy

They scribbled a letter in reply and sent it with the monk whose name, they found out was Cho. Then began their routine as usual.

Back in S.D. a week later:

She got a letter in the mail and ripped it open.

Buffy,

Hi, I miss you and love you we would tell you about the prophecy, but he says we aren't ready to know yet. Spike pouted and called him Mr. Miagi. And I told Spike that compared to the Master, Mr. Miagi was a wannabe.

We got some awesome new weapons. I've got Twin Elven Daggers, they always come back to me and they won't break or anything. Then I've got The Quarterstaff of Jade, it's so pretty. It speed's up my reflexes and healing and gives my eyes increased perception so that the scene looks like it's in slow motion and I can react to what's coming.

Spike got a pair of blades called Angels. They grafted themselves to his arms and pop out like Wolverines blades whenever he thinks about them coming out.

He also got The Quarterstaff of Fire. It's red and black and was made for a vampire. It makes him immune to fire as long as he carries it, which includes sunlight. Double's his hit strength and can suck the blood out of his enemy and put it in him. Ewww.

Master won't let us train with those yet, he says we need more control.

There's no blood up here, but there's a cup. I would get into detail, but let's just say Monty Python didn't have a clue where it was hidden and Indie was looking in the wrong place too. And they all didn't have a clue what the heck it really did.

The first night here, Spike was out of blood, Master decided to test Spike. He told Spike to drink from Lao. A five year old student that lives here with us, but we don't see him much.

Spike freaked out and started yelling saying he didn't like to drink innocent blood, that was Drusilla's thing, and told me we were leaving.

He almost walked right out into the sunlight.

Master stopped him and told him it was a test and gave him the cup. He said only the only other blood the cup would allow in it was mine. So I filled it up and Spike drank it terrified that it would dust him cause he said it was like drinking liquid crucifix, Holy water, and Sunlight all rolled into one. He was right, it would have dusted any other vampire immediately, but Spike is the Keeper of the Key.

He put the cup down and the cup refilled itself with my blood! Totally weird. As long as he leaves a drop in it, it will replenish itself and will stay fresh.

Speaking of the Key.

I was doing my meditation on the first day and was seeing my energy flowing back and forth and decided to play with it and made green fire come out of my fingertips. It caught a bush on fire. Spike pouted about not having any special powers and me now being a bigger badass than him. Big baby.

We are doing really well and I'm kicking Spike's ass. Oh, I can speak Chinese! Every day Master gives me a new book to read in a different language. I read it till I fall asleep and then read it the rest of the way till sunset when we start training. I can read super-fast.

I can now speak eighteen languages besides English. Funny, I never was able to understand my French teacher this fast.

My abilities as Key must be growing. I feel stronger, more powerful.

Master says there are weapons here you could use, but he must meet you first. He says not all slayers are good. Been there done that with Faith.

That and he says he must train you how to use them properly. You'd drool. He has a whole room full of mystical or supposedly lost weapons.

There's a Crystal Claymore in there that caught my eye. You would love it. It's entirely made out of crystal, but it will never break, none of the weapons will. Well, I'll shut up now, I love you and miss you.

Here's Spike.

Hey, Slayer,

You'd be so proud of the Bit, she wasn't exaggerating, she has been kicking my ass. She'd probably give you a run for your money. The girl looks like a slayer. Doin all them fancy flips and kicks and such. I think she stole that side flip kick of yours though.

She's right on the prophecy he won't tell us yet.

And I did not pout.

Cheeky Brat.

Her hair's grown a bit. It's past her ears now. She looks like a shaggy boy though. I think she's adorable.

Tell the Whelp I've got his Grail. nana, nana, naner!

Well, till the next letter. I think we're gonna keep on with this thing. We are both making such progress that I think the entire Scooby gang should come and learn. If nothin else just to visit.

Alright, so I miss the lot of you.

Sod off.

Spike.

Buffy dialed the phone and called the Scoobies together. The arrived shortly and Buffy let them read the letter.

"Is he saying he's got the Holy Grail!" Xander yelled. "And he's Wolverine. Man, I say we go."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked.

"Why not, we can learn to be like Superheroes. Come on Buff, this is our chance. We can fight evil somewhere else. We don't have to be on the Hellmouth. Besides, we just stopped our Apocalypse for the year."

"Sounds good to me." Willow grinned at Tara. "We could learn how to control our power a little better. And if nothing else we can visit Dawn."

"Well, I guess we are going. But only for a few weeks, we can't afford to...Dawn?" she froze and looked down the hallway. Coming out of the downstairs closet was her little sister.

Dawn stared at Buffy in shock. She looked back at the room she came out of. Sure enough it was the hallway outside of her bedroom back in China.

"Spike!" she screamed. Spike rushed out into the Hall and rushed to her, slamming to a stop as he saw what she did. "Do you see the Scoobies?"

"Uh, yeah. What did you do?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just missing them and wishing I could see them as I walked into my room and instead I walked into this room." Spike smiled warmly at her and scooped her up in a hug and twirled her around making sure not to bump the door and shut it. She grinned.

"Sweetheart, you are a Key that can open dimensions. Surely you can open a portal to your own home." She giggled and hugged him.

"Ahem," a throat cleared. They looked back at the Scoobies, "Where's the Holy Grail?" Xander asked. Dawn and Spike burst out laughing. "Has anybody else ever seen Spike laugh like that before?"

"No, but it looks good on him." Willow smiled.

"Dawnie?" Buffy said. Dawn stopped laughing and rushed to give her sister a hug. They hugged and cried for a few minutes. "God, I've missed you. What is this?" Buffy said pointing to Dawn's back. Dawn pulled away and pulled out her Twin Elven Daggers.

"These are the Twins, my Twin Elven Daggers. Spike care for a demo?" Spike grinned and threw his arms down strait. The blades slid out quickly. "Show off."

"I am totally jealous. So, trip to Mt. Wanahokalugi, China, looking a lot more enjoyable without the week long trip getting there. I'm going to pack. Be back in an hour. Don't leave without me." Xander said pulling Anya out the door. Willow and Tara waved and took off as well. Buffy stared at them.

"Dawn, you do look like a boy. And Spike's right you do look adorable. So, Where's this Master I've heard so much about."

"Master Xioquan, can you come here a minute?" Dawn shouted in the door.

"Holy crap, you do speak Chinese!" Buffy said.

"Huh, I didn't even noticed I switched languages."

"So you've finally discovered your gift, or at least one of them. I was wondering why it was taking so long for you to miss your family. I knew that was the key to you finding out." Master said coming through the door.

"Ah, the Slayer." he said speaking English as he went to Buffy and looked in her eyes. "Dawn was correct, you are a true force of Good. However, the weapon for you is not in China, it is here."

"In Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, we will go together, the four of us, to retrieve it. Spike and Dawn go retrieve your chosen staff's, you will need them." They nodded and ran through the door to get their Quarterstaff's of Jade and Fire. They returned moments later.

"Wow, those are so cool. I want one." Buffy pouted.

"Let us go. We must hurry to be back in time to meet your friends." They left the house together. The sun was still up but Spike had his staff. He twirled it as they walked, smiling up at the sky.

"Wonder if you'll freckle." Buffy grinned slyly at him. He grinned back, remembering the day he had the Gem of Amara. They arrived at an old winery. Buffy pulled open the door and they went in. Looking around Dawn gasped as she saw nearly forty set's of golden eyes staring at them. "Uh, Master? You weren't leading us into a trap were you?"

"Of course not, for the three of you this should pose no problem."

"Dawn, I think you should run." Buffy said. Dawn snorted.

"Not a chance. I'm not the helpless little sister anymore Buffy. I've got my own destiny. You know, one girl in all the world, yada, yada, yada."

"Ladies, I believe your attention is needed elsewhere." Spike said as one of the vamps from the nest dove for them. He stuck his staff strait into it's stomach. The vampire looked astonished as his blood flowed out of him. It ran through the grooves and into Spike's hand, soaking into his skin.

He grinned as the vamp disappeared in a poof of ash. He bounced on his toes. "What a thirst quencher. Maybe Xander can have that cup after all. Who's next." he asked.

The mass of vampire's looked decidedly more nervous than before but attacked anyway. This time Dawn was the first one to get a vampire.

She grinned as she started swinging her staff. Twirling, and flipping, killing one after the other with a quick jab to the heart. Her staff was still made of wood, even if it did look like Ivory.

She killed eight before Buffy shook herself out of her shock from watching the two create a swath of dust through the horde. She smiled as she jumped in the fray.

Within five minutes the place was cleared out, but had a layer of dust on the floor at least one inch deep.

Buffy stared at Dawn and Spike.

"What? Did you think we were exaggerating to get you to let us stay?"

"Honestly? Yeah, I did, but... Wow! You do look like a Slayer out there. And Spike? You've gotten better as well. So, Mr. Miagi, where's this weapon?" Buffy looked over at the man.

"Buffy, don't piss him off." Dawn said rolling her eyes. "You're as bad as Spike."

"I believe there is a door that leads down below. And as Dawn pointed out to Spike. Mr. Miagi, is just a wannabe." Dawn laughed. It was the first time she had heard him crack a real joke.

They looked for the trap door and Buffy found it under several barrels. She opened it and climbed below. Dawn and Spike went to follow her but the Master held them back.

"This is for her, this is her destiny. She will share it when she is ready." They waited for several minutes before Buffy popped back out holding a wicked looking Scythe. It was blood red with silver here and there. On one end was the blade, curved and razor sharp, on the other end was a wooden stake.

"This is mine." Buffy stated. "I can feel it. It belongs to me. I can feel the power. I feel stonger, faster...powerful."

"A weapon, forged in secrecry, for One. Created to destroy the last pure demon. You are correct, it does belong to you. Now, we must go. It is almost time for your friends to return." They left and returned to the Summer's house. They walked in the door and the four heads stopped and looked at them.

"What took you so long Buffster, thought you'd left without us. Holy moley, what is that?" Xander cried out staring at the Scythe.

"Slayer's Scythe. Made for me. It was embedded into a rock like the Sword In the Stone. Hang on while I run and get some stuff." She handed the Scythe to him and ran upstairs. She returned a few minutes later with a bag slung over her shoulder. "All ready?"

No! God, I almost forgot. Hand on." Dawn yelled and ran up the stairs. She returned carrying a portable CD player, with headphones, a CD case, two packs of batteries, and a portable CD Boombox, and the batteries for it. "Ready to go. God, I thought I was gonna go crazy not being able to listen to music up there."

"Oh, the poor deprived Third world countries. How do they survive?" Spike said dryly. "You bloody lot are so spoiled, when I was a kid there wasn't the telly or radio, or anything. You wanted music you got a string quartet. If I'd have thought about it I could have beaten you guys years ago. And all I had to do was steal your electricity. Spoiled Children."

"Says the guy who never misses an episode of Passions." Dawn grinned. Spike opened his mouth to reply but sighed in defeat. She had her point.

"Come on let's go." Everyone went through the door leading to Xioinchi. Dawn was last and shut the door wishing the portal away. She reopened it to see her bedroom back as it should be. The group went into the main room.

"Now, where's this Holy Grail." Xander asked. Spike went into his room and retrieved it. He showed Xander the blood in it then drank it all. He showed him the empty cup and everyone gathered round and watched as the cup filled it self back up. "It really is the Holy Grail. Can I try?"

"Never knew you were partial to blood, Harris."

"Ewww, No, can we like dump the blood and put some Mountain Dew in it? That would be cool."

"I would never just dump this blood. It's Dawn's. And if we clean it out after I drink it and fill it up with Mt. Dew, then eventually I'll need to put more blood in it so It will refill itself, the only blood it'll hold is the Nibblet's. And I ain't lettin her bleed herself for me again." Spike said taking the cup back to his room. Xander looked at Dawn.

"Looks to me, like you've bled her more than once." The Scoobies gasped as they saw the marks on Dawn's neck for the first time. "So, how long have you had the chip out?" Spike came back into the room and sighed heavily.

"The chips been out for about two weeks, but that was done before it was out." Buffy shoved Spike against the wall with her Scythe hadle.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't dust you." suddenly she was flying back and suspended in the air.

The Scoobies were staring at Dawn, whose hair, that had grown to her chin, was flying around her face and her green eyes had a leaf green glow. She had her arm outstretched towards Buffy.

"I can give you a hundred. The first one is that this mark wasn't to feed, it was to protect me. I asked for it after we were attacked by a group of vampires that were gonna kill him just to use me as a meal.

"The second is that he is a part of a prophecy reguarding me. I need him. I had the Master remove it.

"The third, is that I love him. If you ever raise your hand to him again, any of you, you will be shown the door back to Sunnydale and you will never see either of us again. Do I make myself clear?" All but Buffy nodded vigorously. She stared Dawn in the eyes for a second before hesitantly nodding.

Dawn lowered her to the ground and withdrew her power. Willow looked at her amazed that she wasn't on the floor drained from the exertion of that much power.

"The only reason I am agreeing to it is because you obviously have enough power to take care of yourself. But so help me if he ever hurts you, all bets are off. And what's this about you being in love with him. He's a vampire, he'll never love you back and even if he could he thinks he's in love with me."

"Actually, that's not true." Spike said coming to stand next to Dawn. "I loved her from the moment I met her the night I met your mum. But I fell in love with her a few weeks ago. I think I loved you, or the idea of you, but I wasn't in love with you."

"What a load of bull-shit. Vampire's can't love." Buffy spat out.

"Actually," The Master spoke up for the first time, "this vampire can love. He has a place in prophecy, if you will come with me, I will explain the prophecy to you all." he said leading them all into the main room.

They sat in a circle. Spike was on the Master's left, then Dawn, Tara, Willow, Xander, Anya, then Buffy on the Master's right.

The Master handed an old scroll to Dawn. She pulled off the tattered ribbon and carefully unrolled the yellow parchment. She read the ancient words over and over until she began to understand what they said, only when she could read them completly did she begin to read outloud.

"When the Key for every lock and door to all dimensions bonds with the Vampire of Light.

He shall become the Keeper of the Key.

They shall embrace their destiny and become every dimension's guardians.

She shall become Immortal when her human body reaches the age of twenty and one.

And the Keeper and the Key shall both be unable to die in any manner.

They shall both discover the powers that lie dormant in their hearts and shall vanquish every foe encountered.

When the Key's human family have all left the mortal coil, the Key and the Keeper will travel through all of the dimensions until all evil everywhere is destroyed forever.

When all humans have no evil in their hearts and every dimension is at peace.

They shall have the choice to become mortal or retain their immortality."

They all paused and looked around but they kept staring at Spike and Dawn.

"How come she gets all the straitforward prophecies? I only get the cryptic ones." Buffy pouted.

"It is straitforward because I wrote it." Dawn said.

"What? What do you mean?" Willow asked. Dawn looked at them.

"I wasn't always Dawn Summers. The Key has been in many forms, I remember writing this. Actually I had one of the monks write it but I do remember. This was what I was created to do."

"Um, I have a question." Xander said raising his hand. "How are you going to destroy the evil in the hearts of humans? Do you just kill all of the bad ones?" Dawn smiled.

"There are some that are too far gone to save, But I believe I would have to kill the root of evil to take out the tree. I think the First Evil would be the root, wouldn't you agree, Buffy?" Buffy nodded solemnly.

"It's true, you really are the Key. Well, I'm the Slayer and I'm helping you as long as I'm alive. So, when do we take out the First?"

"Not until she's Immortal, Slayer. I'm not losing her just cause you're impatient." Spike said.

"Besides, we aren't done training yet. How could we take out all the evil everywhere when we aren't even out of boot camp."

"Spike is correct." Master said. "All of you shall train until she is twenty-one. Only then will she stand a chance. Every day at Sunrise you will all come here to train. Willow, will stay here.

"Willow, you are powerful and untrained. You need to master yourself before you can master your magic or the magic will master you and you will become one of the evil humans that are too far gone to save.

"Xander, you lack any skills with weapons. You have made it this far on sheer luck. You will stay as well and train.

"Anya, you do not wish to be in this fight, but feel obligated to do so out of love and loyalty to your friends. Obligation has no place on the battlefield. If you continue, you will perish.

"Tara, your power is pure, but still weaker than it should be. If you wish to stay you may.

"Buffy you are the Slayer, you cannot stay, the world needs you to defend it until the Key and her Keeper are ready. But you may come anytime you have free and train.

"But first, follow me. You all need appropriate weapons." Buffy jumped up looking excited as did Xander.

"Gotta love new weapons." Buffy said.

"No fair you've already got one." Xander pouted.

"Come you may each choose two, Buffy already has one of hers."

"And he uses the term 'you may choose' lightly." Dawn snickered. "You'll be lucky if you don't have weapons smacking you upside your head going 'Pick me, Pick me!'" Spike laughed and pulled her to his side in a hug. The other continued on following the Master but Dawn pulled Spike into a side room and shut the door.

"What are you doing, Nibblet?" Spike asked looking nervous.

"When were you going to tell me?" she demanded folding her arms across her chest.

"Tell you what?" he stuttered knowing exactly what she was refering to. She slapped his arm.

"When were you going to tell me that you were in love with me?" he sighed and took her into his arms.

"I was going to wait until you were seventeen, let you grow up, grow into a woman, cause God knows I feel like a cradle-robbing perv just holding you like this. You know let you grow into who you are without having a man to define who you are."

"You already define me." she said kissing him. He leaned into her and kissed her with relish. "I tell you what." she said leaning away catching her breath. " We won't have sex till I'm eighteen. Deal?"

"Alright, but I am only human... well, I'm a man anyway, so, no teasing me. Got it?" she nodded and kissed him again. "Let's go find the sodding Scoobies." They left hand-in-hand and went into the weapon's room. Tara had picked up the Crystal Claymore.

"The Crystal should amplify your spells." Willow told her. The Master had made them go one at a time.

"You are correct, Willow, that is a sword for a White Mage. Amplifies spells, and has the power to heal it's carrier." The Master said placing the Crystal Claymore in a Crystal Sheath. The straps on the Crystal Sheath were a pure white leather.

The Master taught her how to strap it on her back. She smiled and pulled the sword from the sheath on her back and looked at her sword.

Suddenly, her focus landed on the far wall.

She sheathed the sword and went to the wall where an assortment of bows and arrows were arranged. She ran her fingertips down the side of a grass green bow with tiny white flowers etched into it. The string was pure white. She pulled the string and let go. The sound of the string's vibrations sounded like tinkling glass.

She pulled her hand back quickly.

"It can't be. Surely they aren't real." she said.

"I'm afraid they were. They are all extinct, now, have been for thousands of years. They didn't have the option of going to a different dimension like the dragons, fairies, and elves did." The master said sadly.

"What the heck are you guys talking about?" Xander said coming up and staring at the bow.

"Unicorn, the string is made from Unicorn's hair. A live Unicorn. When they die they turn into a white dust. This was taken off of a willing Unicorn. If they were ever captured they could disappear and reappear somewhere else. The only way to catch a Unicorn was to kill it, but then you'd only have it's dust. This was taken from a willing Unicorn. How?" Tara asked looking at the Master.

"This is an Elven Bow, it is called the Bow of Endil. It's quiver is full of arrows that are made from the shed bark off of the The White Walnut tree, dipped in liquified Unicorn dust.

"This belonged to an Elven Warrior named Arwil. He sat out on a quest to avenge the slaughtered Unicorns.

"The last Unicorn gave his life to make this weapon. The Bow will never break, and the quiver will never be empty. The arrows are created to utterly obliterate evil. The dust on the arrows harness pure light. They never miss their target, no matter how far. You have chosen your weapons well, Tara." he said and motioned for Xander to begin his hunt for the perfect weapons.

"Elves, Fairies, Dragons, and Unicorns are real. I fight demons and vampires on a nightly basis but I can't seem to wrap my mind around that." He said choosing a sword immediatly. It was curved like an S that someone had tried to straiten out. He swung it around some.

"This is cool."

"That is a High Elven Warrior Sword." Willow picked up a similar sword that was nearby. It was shaped the same but smaller. Like the female to Xander's male sword.

"That, dear, is a Hadhafang, a Great Elven Sword. Sister to the Xander's. They both have immense protective powers. They grant their wielder's immunity to all the elements, Can cut through anything, and, as long as it is on your person, you can call upon the elements to help you. They will power your sword and will increase all of your senses and reflexes."

"Found mine." Xander and Willow said together. They continued to look through the weapons for their second. Xander chose a quarterstaff. It was a bright blue and had small multi-colored dragons painted all over it.

"Ah, the Dragon Fang. This staff chooses it's owner. When it chooses it stays with them forever. The staff-bearer becomes Immortal. Should he drop it and be mortally wounded then the staff cannot save him."

Willow picked up a leather blood red whip. The handle was a thick leather that Was braided tightly and knotted at the hilt. From the hilt a solitary strip had been cut into three pieces and braided so tight that I looked to be only one strait, but slightly grooved, strip. At the very end about three inches of the leather had been left creating six lashes. She flicked the whip and it snapped up hitting an amulet hanging on the wall.

"You have chosen your final weapon and it has chosen your amulet" he said taking the amulet off the wall. He slipped over her head.

"This amulet is the one that I would have chosen for. It is the White Star. It let's you tap into the full potential of your white magic. While wearing this, you will be at your full potential. Spells of white magic and healing that you would not be able to do at your present level are now your specialty.

"It also focus's your black magic abilities so that the ones you can do will not go wrong. Also, the drain magic normally puts upon your human body is relieved."

"No more nosebleeds?" Willow smiled excitedly.

"No more nosebleeds." he smiled. Willow threw her arms around him. He looked shocked and hesitantly patted her back.

Everyone else laughed at the look on his face.

When she finally released his choke hold on him he regained his composure and he continued.

"The whip is the Scorpion's Spine. It is made from the skin of the Red Ogre and the lashes have been soaked in Scorpion Poison and Holy Water. It will not harm you to touch it, but if intoduced into the bloodstream it will kill you quickly."

He looked at Buffy. "I believe you have one remaining weapon to choose." she looked over the huge collection sad that she could choose only one.

Her eyes landed on a wicked looking dagger. It looked alot like the one Mayor Wilkens had given to Faith. The one Buffy stabbed Faith with, putting her in what the Scoobies dubbed 'the funnest coma ever'.

The blade and handle was gold with a silver hilt and etchings.

"The Dashi Dagger. This is the most dangerous weapon I have. For your enemies and yourself. Any living, or unliving, thing the blade cuts dies within seconds, even from the tiniest cut. There is no cure.

"This weapon, while excellent in your quest to destroy evil, is too dangerous to it's owner. I cannot allow you to have this blade, however, if you come up against something you cannot kill, you may borrow it." Buffy put the dagger down carefully.

"Good thing I didn't do a sharpness check." she said looking over the other items.

She picked up a small seemingly harmless blue knife. "Okay, you have all these impressive weapons here. This thing looks totally harmless. And in my line of work, I've found the ones that look the most harmless can sometimes surprise you. Take Spike for instance. Who knew he'd last this long." she grinned at him.

"Oi, I bloody well do not look harmless! I'm the Big...I give up with you lot. Even without the chip I can't scare you." Spike sighed in defeat.

"Anyway, so, seemingly harmless knife, what's the deal with it?" Buffy asked. The Master took the knife from her.

"I do not see a little knife. I see a Mace." he said with an impish grin. Before their eyes the little blue knife turned into a big blue mace with spikes on it. Everyone's eyes went wide. "Or maybe an axe." he said and the mace turned into a double headed battle axe.

"Sold. Can it change into any weapon I want?" Buffy said.

"Yes, It's called the Crisigrim but it may look like the weapon." he said changing it into the Slayer's Scythe. "But it does not have it's powers." he said handing the newly formed scythe to Buffy. She sighed.

"You're right. With the Slayer Scythe I could feel the power. With this I feel nothing. But It's still mine." She said turning it into the Dashi Dagger. "Oh, see, I've still got my dagger with none of the deadly papercuts." she turned it back into the small knife and put it in a small sheath, strapping it to her thigh.

Master Xioquan looked over at Anya who had been standing quietly to the side.

"So, you have decided." he said. She looked around the room at the others faces before settling on his. She nodded.

"I can't do this. All these weapons are cool, but I'm not a warrior like you guys. It's not that I couldn't be, it's that I don't want to be. I want to get married and have children. And I don't want my children or my husband to wander if I'm coming home from battle that night. I also don't want to wonder the same about my husband." they all stared at her.

"Anya, I understand if you don't want to be a part of this, but this is something that I want...I need to be a part of." Xander said.

"Xander, you could die, and probably will, A horrible, bloody death."

"Yeah, I could. I could also die in a car accident tomorrow, or from a brain aneurism next week. I'd rather go out taking a demon with me than lying in a bed from old age."

"Well, I guess that's it then. I'll be moving to London. Dawn, could you give me a door to my apartment and then one to Giles in london?"

"Anya, are we over?" Xander asked. She nodded. He sighed in defeat with tears rolling down his face.

"I still love you, always will, but I can't...I just can't. I've been alive for over a thousand years. It's time I settled down. Dawn?" Dawn nodded and led the way back to her bedroom.

Wishing she was in Xander's apartment she opened the door. She was still surprised when the door opened in Xander's living room from his closet.

Dawn followed Anya into their bedroom where she began to pack up her stuff. When she was finished They went back through the door into the hallway. Dawn thought hard about Giles and opened the door.

She had never been in Giles home so she couldn't do anything but think about Giles.

She opened the door only to pull it closed quietly as she realized she had opened the door into Giles bathroom.

Giles was in the shower singing 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts'.

Dawn and Anya stared at each other in shock before busting out laughing.

"I think I'm scarred for life, and I'm Immortal." Dawn whispered. This caused them to bust out laughing again.

The Scoobies came around the corner into the hallway.

"What's so funny, Bit?" Spike asked. She contained her laughter to tell him to poke his head in the door.

He raised one eyebrow and did so only to pull it back a second later.

With his eyebrows as high as they could go and his lips pursed tight he fought the smile. But he took one look at Dawn and he lost the fight, doubling over laughing.

One by one the remaining Scoobies took a peek then promtly burst out laughing.

Suddenly the door was flung open and there stood Giles stark naked, yelling:

"Caught you!" only to see who it was and the slam the door with a "Good Lord!"

They all burst out laughing again. Dawn's sides were about to cave in. She cracked open the door to yell.

"That's a lovely bunch of coconuts!" she closed the door and wished for her own room.

She opened it up again and saw her bed.

The laughter had hit a peak, nobody seemed to be able to stop, even the Master was chuckling.

Finally, Dawn was able to wipe away the tears and calm down, as did the others. "I think we'll give him a few minutes to get dressed and try again. This time preferrably not the bathroom."

Ten minutes later, Xander and Anya were curled up in a corner talking quietly.

Dawn and Spike had gone to get some tea for Master.

And Buffy, Willow, and Tara were sitting on the floor playing with their new weapons.

Dawn and Spike came back in the room.

"Let's see if it's safe. Nibblet?" She concentrated on Giles's bathroom door, but wished to come out of the bathroom instead of going into it.

She opened the door to see a conservatively furnished apartment and Gile sitting in an armchair looking like he'd seen a ghost and drinking strait from a bottle of Scotch.

The all filed into the apartment.

"Hi, Giles." Dawn said. The bottle flipped around in the air and landed on his lap, soaking it with the liquer.

"Bloody hell! How are you doing that? I opened the bathroom door and you were gone. Now, you are coming out of my bathroom. What the bloody hell is going on?" Giles stood up fuming. Everyone tried to keep a straight face.

"I'm the Key."

"I already knew that." he stopped. "They found you."

"Actually, Spike found me then I found them. I'm the Key, you know, opener of doors and portals. Just came from China." Giles still looked confused.

"Bloody hell, Rupes, she figured out how to use her powers."

"Are you saying she is able to open doors to dimensions at will?"

"Dimensions or your bathroom." The group snickered. Giles plopped himself down in the wet chair.

"We must research what this means, surely there is a prophecy..."

"Already know the prophecy."

"Besides" Buffy said. "We didn't come by to tell you all this. You've chosen to remove yourself from our lives so you are. We are here to drop Anya off. She's chosen to remove herself as well.

"Although, we do understand why she is leaving us. I think we'd all rather forget the things that go bump in the night and pretend all this was a dream. Have a normal family. But some of us are chosen.

"The reason I have such a problem with you leaving wasn't cause you were leaving the Slayer buisness, it was because you were leaving me. We are all still children, Spike included." she looked at him.

"Spike especially." Spike gave her a dirty look. "I didn't have the guts to say all of this when you left because I was too hurt and had other things on my mind, but it's just as well. Well, have a good life, you too Anya." Everybody gave Anya a hug.

"What is this prophecy?" Giles asked. Dawn turned to him.

"We aren't your concern anymore, which means the prophecy isn't either."

"Well, maybe I can deciefer it. I have years of extensive train..."

"Already done. Already activated." Giles got angry at Dawn's flippant attitude and took a step towards her. Spike stepped in his path.

"Don't touch her."

"Get out of my way Spike or I'll stick a stake through your dead heart." Giles said, Ripper coming out to play.

Giles was thown back by a streak of green energy. He slammed into the wall.

Dawn calmly walked up to him as he stood back up.

"Don't ever threaten him again. He's mine. Besides, he's also chipless, he can take care of you himself. But I wanted you to know you'd have to go through me first."

"What happened to you." Giles stuttered.

"I'm...We're fulfilling a prophecy. One that saves the world from every evil. Not only every world but every dimension as well. The Key and her Keeper. Our destiny is to wipe out all evil."

"But that's the Slayer's job."

"Maybe, but the Slayer isn't immortal and she can't reach other dimensions. And she can't go into hell and kill the first evil without opening the hellmouth. I can. I will." he stared at her.

She turned around and they all began to file through the portal leaving Anya and Giles to stare after them.

"Is any of this making any sense to you, Anya?"

"Oh, fine, I'll tell you the damn prophecy, but don't bother me until I've finished." she said and began to explain what all was happening.

Back in China:

"Well that was fun. So, Master, do we all get amulets?" Spike asked. Master nodded. Everybody gave him a look. "What? We lost the Watcher and Demon-girl, can't believe you lot didn't see it coming. Life goes on and all that rot."

They sighed and followed the Master back into the weapon's room.

"Spike, come here." Master said taking a black and red amulet off of the wall. He put it around Spike's neck. Spike gasped and took a step back. "This is the Amulet of Xie'e, or Darkness. It can sense evil nearby."

"Why do I feel it so strongly?" he asked with a look of confusion on his face.

"Because you are a vampire. You are sensing the evil that lies within you. You will eventually come to ignore your own evil and be able to sense the other evil around you. You need time to get used to the feel of your demon. Soon you should be able to distinguish your evil from another's evil. That is why I did not give it to Dawn. You are already used to feeling it to a degree, having a constant evil around her would be harder on her. But this will aide in your quest. Several years ago, the evil in you was much stronger wasn't it?" Spike nodded.

"Dawn, come here." he picked up a small silver ring with a green stone shaped like an eye in it. "This is the Ring of Zhi Bing Cha, or the Ring of Wisdom and Inspection.

"It grants its wearer wisdom and the ability to notice things they would not normally see." she put the ring on and looked around.

Her eyes stopped on the Master.

"Exactly how old are you?" he smiled.

"I am six thousand four hundred and thirty-seven. My birtday is next month."

"And why, may I ask, are you still alive?" Dawn asked putting her hands on her hips.

"I am the last remaining Elf in this dimension." he said pulling his long gray hair off of his ears. They were fairly long and pointy.

"Elves as a rule are immortal as long as they are not mortally wounded. That is why I have such an extensive collection of weapons and knowledge at my disposal. I'm a pack rat." he said with a sardonic grin.

"How come no one has ever found you up here?"

"I have a spell placed on my mountain. You can't find it unless I want you to.

"That was a fine example of wisdom and observation.

"Now, Tara, my Little White Fairy, it is your turn. This," he said holding up an amulet that had blue lines crisscrossing all over it looking like tangled vines, "is the Amulet of Qian Yi, or the Amulet of Teleportation. It will transport you short distances, through objects or walls but you must be sure of where you are going or you could end up stuck inside a wall."

He slipped it over her head. "Now, in order to transport, you must see in your mind where you are going as best you can and say the word: 'Ban' which means 'move'." Tara whispered the word 'Ban' and disappeared reappearing behind Willow and saying 'Boo!' making Willow whirl around in surprise.

"I think I like this." Tara smiled shyly. "Thank you, Master Xioquan."

"You're welcome dear. I'm glad these weapons and things finally have a use instead of sitting gathering dust.

"Now, Buffy, This is the Amulet of You Ling Jing or the Amulet of the Ghost Eye." he said placing an amulet around her neck.

It was clear like crystal but had indistinguishable etchings in it. "It renders the wearer invisible for a short time upon activation. The word is 'Ci' which means 'clear'."

Buffy smiled and whispered the word under her breath disappearing completely.

Suddenly, Spike was floating in the air with his duster bunched up on the back of his neck. He started flailing around.

"Bloody hell, Slayer, put me down. I ain't a soddin puppet."

"If I was gonna stick my arm up your ass it would be to shut your mouth not to make it talk and there are far easier and less disgusting ways to do that. Course the look on your face might be worth it." she giggled dropping him to the floor.

His arms and legs were still flailing so he fell down face first on the ground.

"Bloody bitch." he grumbled picking himself up.

"Okay, how do I turn this off or do I have to wait it out and if so for how long?"

"The word is 'Du'. It means 'see'. And if you were to wait it out it would last for twenty minutes." Bufffy said the word and appeared next to Spike. She stuck her tongue out at him and he returned the gesture with a two-fingered salute.

"What does that even mean?" Buffy asked.

"It's the English version of 'Flipping the Bird'." Dawn giggled.

"Oh, my turn! My turn!" Xander said bouncing around like a puppy.

"See, that's why I call you 'Whelp'." Spike grinned.

"Yes, Xander, it is your turn. This is the Ring of Xin Zhong or the Ring of One's Thoughts. It allows you to read anothers thoughts. Once put on you are able to read anyone's thoughts near you. You can hone in on one person in a crowd or hear them all at once or block them all from your mind. It is a tough skill to master and if you never block thoughts it could eventually drive you insane."

"Yeah, Buffy's already been there done that." Xander said. Buffy grinned at him.

"Yeah, at least I'm not the one who has to hear 'What am I gonna do? I think about sex all the time. Sex. Help. Four times five is thirty. Five times six is thirty-two. Naked women. Naked girls. Naked Buffy...'."

"God, have you remembered everything I've ever said?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"Ooh, Ooh!" Willow said excitedly. "How about 'I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away.'"

"Or 'For I am Xander, King of Cretins. May all lesser cretins bow before me.' and 'I'm gonna do what any man would do about it: somethin' damn manly.' "Buffy grinned.

"Or how about the time I said 'You're not gonna be young forever.' and he said 'Yes, but I'll always be stupid.'"

"Or 'I don't get this. This candy's supposed to make you all immature and stuff, but I ate a ton and I don't feel any diff... never mind.'"

"Alright, alright, enough. I'm a complete spaz. We all have the picture. And tonight I say we have a slumber party and relive your spaz days." Xander smiled.

"How about when he told Spike 'I hate to break it to you, O Impotent One, but you're not the Big Bad anymore. You're not even the Kind of Naughty.'" Willow said ignoring him. Spikes eyebrows raised.

"I had forgotten about that. Tell me Xander, now that the chip is out do you think I"ve been upgraded to 'Kind of Naughty'?" Spike said smiling wickedly at him. Xander stuttered for a second.

"Yes, Spike, you're 'kind of naughty', heck, I'll even raise it to 'very naughty'." Buffy said rolling her eyes. Spike scowled at her.

"You, missy, are just one step away."

"Giles, help he's going to scold me!" They both smiled remembering the bathtub. As they thought of Giles everyone sobered up. "Do you guys think that I was too hard on him?"

"Some," Spike said. " But he should have thought about what he was doing. He should have realized you'd been left by every man in your life. But I think the main thing that decided it for him was Joyce's death. First that gypsy bint and now Joyce. Has the man ever had a woman that he loves just dump him? Or have they all died?"

"What are you talking about? Giles didn't love my mom! Having sex on the hood of a police cruiser...twice...does not love make."

"Are you all bloody blind? Have none of you noticed the awkwardness they had around each other?"

"Oh, God! You're right! I never realized...we'll talk to him tomorrow. I think we should give him some time to cool down and let Anya explain some stuff first."

TBC...

AN: I know I used alot of quotes from the show. Unoriginal, but they were funny. Review please. Even if you think this story is stupid, at least give me a why.


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